Second Test: Honours even but Alviro Petersen is a bugbear for England

Thursday 2 August 2012 15.37 EDT
First published on Thursday 2 August 2012 15.37 EDT

For a while, during the afternoon session, when the cloud rolled over Headingley like a duvet, the ball began to dance a little, and they rid themselves of Graeme Smith – their first wicket for 497 runs and in more than 10 hours – Hashim Amla (London buses) and Jacques Kallis, the terror trio of The Oval, England managed to fight their way back into the opening day of the second Test.

Except that until a late burst with the second new ball evened things up once more as the shadows lengthened, this had seemed like a thin filling in a tasty South African sandwich that looked as if it would take the visitors away with the advantage.

Having put South Africa into bat, England failed to take a wicket in the opening session, and, after a rain break postponed the evening session until gone five o'clock, none in that extended session either until Stuart Broad, at last bowling with some urgency, claimed his first Test wicket since May to get rid of the dangerous AB de Villiers for 47, and Steven Finn bowled the night watchman Dale Steyn without scoring to leave South Africa at 262 for five and honours instead all but even.

Throughout it all, the opener Alviro Petersen, whose unfortunate contribution to South Africa's gargantuan 632 for two at The Oval had been an eight-ball duck, batted and battled his way to his fourth Test century, an innings that was flirty for the first half-century when for the 78 balls it took he rode his luck a little, and circumspect thereafter, his second fifty taking a further 137 balls and his innings 266 thus far in total.

After almost six and a half hours already, he will resume on 124, with Jacques Rudolph, well known in these parts, on one. Petersen's opening partnership with Smith produced 120 and, until Tim Bresnan, with the second ball of a new spell induced a catch at backward square-leg looked as if it might bring a shedload more.

But the South African captain's 53 was followed by the bargain-price wicket of Amla, who, following a misfield in the covers by Jonathan Trott, hesitated in taking a third run and was beaten by Bresnan's fine throw from the boundary, and that of Kallis, who was well taken low down to his right at second slip by Alastair Cook.

The rain that washed in from the southwest cleared the air, though, and the dampness in the outfield dulled the shine on the ball. Diligently as England bowled with the old ball, there was little or no movement either in the air or an excellent surface.

The balance of the side represents a real un-England-like gamble. On Tuesday, Andy Flower had responded to a question on the possibility of going into the match with four seamers by agreeing that it was an option. Indeed it was, but few expected it to happen.

Perhaps they were persuaded by the weather forecast. Maybe the condition of Graeme Swann's right elbow is not as stable as they would like, although surely they would have had cover had that been the case. But to leave out the spinner, who has taken 188 wickets since his debut, more than any other England bowler, is a big call, upsetting not just the balance of the attack but the ecology of the slip cordon.

It solved the conundrum of which seamer to omit were Finn to be included, but leaves the attack short of options should the ball not move. With such an attack, Strauss had little option but to bowl first, although he would have been further encouraged by the movement that his bowlers were getting with new balls while warming up beforehand.

That England failed to take a wicket in the opening session was self-inflicted as much as anything. Swann's absence left the second slip position vacant and of candidates to fill it other than Anderson, it was Cook, no more than an average catcher in general, who was chosen: when Petersen, then 29, edged, the chance was as simple as they come and Anderson's angry hoof at the turf told its tale.

But equally culpable was Finn, who has replaced his old foible of falling over – as he tried to get off the pitch too quickly post-delivery – with a new one where a wonky right knee kicks out in the manner of a motorcyclist cornering at speed and disturbs the stumps at the non-striker's end. Three times in his opening over the umpire Steve Davis rebuilt the wicket, and with the batsmen grumbling about distraction, was warned by Davis that he might be forced to call dead ball as required under the Laws of the game.

A fourth time went unpunished but the fifth, which found Smith's outside edge and was caught by Strauss at first slip, did not. It was a big moment for Smith had but six runs and the ball was still hard. Later, when Finn again transgressed, Smith pulled a brace of boundaries without obvious distraction, although Davis was consistent in his calling and they did not count.